Balance issues are more common in the first two weeks following a concussion than cognitive impairments (Karr, Areshenkoff, & Garcia-Barrera, 2014). Thus, physical therapists are a vital member of the rehabilitation team treating concussion for both assessment and recovery. Also of interest is that abnormal heel-to-toe (tandem) and feet together with eyes closed (Romberg) testing at 2-3 weeks correlates with poor neuropsychological testing related to poor effort and/or invalid test results.

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness, or PPPD, is a vestibular condition previously referred to as Chronic Subjective Dizziness. People with this condition don’t feel a ‘room-spinning’ type of dizziness or have trouble focusing during head movement like many people with vestibular problems experience.

Vicki Appel, a pediatric nurse, went for a relaxing massage and ended up leaving in an ambulance, experiencing severe vertigo and vomiting. Little did she know that 10 years later she would be living her life with chronic and disabling vestibular dysfunction, but without a clear diagnosis.

We honor vestibular patient, Gerry Kerlin, who passed away June 16th, 2017, and his surviving wife, Ann, who has contributed greatly to VeDA's patient education efforts, by sharing the story of Gerry's vestibular journey.